Archives for April 7, 2018

Saturday’s ad is for is by the U.S. Brewers Association, from 1961. Beginning during World War II, the USBIF began a series of positive ads under the name “Morale is a Lot of Little Things” followed by an unnumbered series of illustrated ads that were a precursor to the numbered “Home Life in America,” the crown jewel of ads which ran from 1945 to 1956, also known as the Beer Belongs series. But they didn’t end there, and for a short time afterward, beginning in 1956, several more similar ads were created but without the numbering or the “Home Life in America” association. Shortly thereafter, the ads continued to use thematic elements from the earlier ads, but they became more conventional, using photographs instead of art.

In this ad, another one entitled “who says beer is a man’s beverage?,” the scene is two women have left their gold cart on the path, and are sitting on a bench with their feet propped up, sharing a beer. To answer the question, the ad copy says “a warm round of golf calls for a cold round of beer,” and that women are discovering that fact for themselves.

Today is the 57th birthday of Alex Puchner, who’s the Senior Vice President of Brewing Operations, and its first brewmaster, for the BJ’s Restaurant Brewhouse chain. He started with the chain in 1996, a co-founder, when they built their first brewpub. Alex had been homebrewing for a decade before that first brewery. There now have 174 locations in 23 states, although they backed away from their brewpub model and contract most of their beer, but have added lost of guest taps and good bottled imports, including a great selection from Belgium. Alex has been very active over the years in the beer community and the CCBA, and has been great for beer in California, providing many people’s first introduction to craft beer with BJ’s. Join me in wishing Alex a very happy birthday.

Alex with Greg Hall, formerly with Goose Island, during a visit to San Francisco a few years ago.